Banking: UK Financial Investments Ltd

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government why bankers recruited by the Government into UK Financial Investments Ltd to manage the state's £37 billion stake in retail banks will be eligible for bonus payments.

Lord Myners: Some element of performance-related pay is now the norm in the great majority of organisations in both the public and private sectors. UK Financial Investments will be no exception to this, and as with other publicly funded organisations all remuneration arrangements must deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 9 February (WA 163) concerning the Belfast agreement of 1998, what was agreed concerning the transparency and accountability of cross-border implementation bodies.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The accountability arrangements for the operation of the north/south implementation bodies are set out in the agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland who established the implementation bodies on 8 March 1999. The operation of the bodies is a matter for the devolved authorities in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government.

Chagos Islands

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with officials from Mauritius on the future of the Chagos archipelago; and what in particular was discussed.

Lord Malloch-Brown: British and Mauritian Government officials met in London on Wednesday 14 January 2009. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a dialogue between the UK and Mauritius on the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) as agreed by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and the Mauritian Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam.
	Officials discussed the latest legal and policy developments relating to BIOT. British officials set out the view of the UK on sovereignty and how the United Kingdom had to bear in mind its treaty obligations with the USA. Mauritian officials set out the view of Mauritius on sovereignty. There were discussions on fishing rights, environmental concerns, the continental shelf, future visits to the territory by the Chagossians and respective policies towards resettlement.
	Officials agreed the need to maintain a dialogue on a range of issues relating to the territory and to meet again at a date to be agreed.

Children: Domestic Violence

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of local authorities have specialised services to address the effects of domestic violence on children.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government do not hold data that indicate which local authorities have specialised services to address the effects of domestic violence on children. Local authority children's services are best placed to assess the type and levels of support required. Therefore the provision of local services must be determined locally, based on local need and priorities.

Children: Lifetime Number

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to assign each child a lifetime number and keep a permanent record of school achievements, exclusions and expulsions for access by potential employers; and, if so, what is the reason.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Department for Children, Schools and Families is not planning on assigning a lifetime child number for employers to access records of school achievements, exclusions and expulsions.

Children: Refuges

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of local authorities have dedicated support workers for children in refuges.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government do not collect data that indicate which local authorities have dedicated support workers for children in refuges. The provision of local services must be determined locally, by local authorities, based on local need and priorities.

Children: Refuges

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce statutory funded places for children in refuges.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government have no plans to introduce statutory funded places for children in refuges.

Children: Sexual Exploitation

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will undertake research into the sexual exploitation of children and young people by other children and young people.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We have no plans at present to undertake research into the sexual exploitation of children and young people by other children and young people.

Children: Sexual Exploitation

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government when revised guidance on safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation will be published.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We expect to publish guidance on safeguarding children and young people from sexual exploitation in the spring.

Climate Change: Research

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure public funding for research into geo-engineering projects that may help to counter climate change.

Lord Drayson: Research into understanding climate change and its impacts is a high priority for the Government.
	At present, the Government consider that geo-engineering options are speculative. It is important, though, to keep them under review, particularly those that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, as geo-engineering might ultimately have a role to play in helping to ameliorate climate change; particularly if emissions reductions are not achieved quickly enough or climate change turns out to be worse than projected.
	The Government thus have no plans at present for funding any significant research on geo-engineering. The Department of Energy and Climate Change has however been funding, as part of the Integrated Climate Programme at the Met Office Hadley Centre, a small set of modelling studies on the impacts of geo-engineering options on the climate system, to help assess their environmental implications.
	The Government welcome the Royal Society's current study on geo-engineering which is aimed at helping policymakers decide which options, if any, should be researched and deployed.
	Research Councils are funded by DIUS but under the Haldane principle they set their own detailed research priorities. The Natural Environment Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council support a wide range of research that is relevant to geo-engineering, particularly in the areas of climate dynamics, which helps us understand potential environmental effects of large-scale geo-engineering, and carbon capture and storage, an accepted way of removing atmospheric carbon dioxide, at source.

Co-operation Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether in 2008 they hosted a reception on their property in Hillsborough, County Down, for Co-operation Ireland; and, if so, why; when; how much it cost; and who organised it.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: On 24 November 2008, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland hosted a reception to mark the retirement of Tony Kennedy as chief executive of Co-operation Ireland and the appointment of Peter Sheridan as the new chief executive. The event, attended by over 300 guests, was organised by the Northern Ireland Office at a total cost of £5,736.35.

Crime: Money-laundering

Lord Wakeham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to (a) review the administration of money laundering regulations, and (b) simplify the regulations so far as they affect law-abiding citizens.

Lord Myners: The UK's Money Laundering Regulations 2007 transposed the requirements of the EU's third money-laundering directive into domestic law.
	To help interpret the requirements of the regulations within the UK's specific context and to avoid prescriptive application, HM Government employ a risk-based approach to implementation. This enables businesses to apply simplified customer checks in many situations, to have discretion over how they verify customers' identities, and to rely upon customer checks already carried out by other regulated businesses. The Treasury and the various money-laundering supervisory bodies, such as the FSA or Institute of Chartered Accountants, routinely advise regulated business on the need to apply the regulations in a risk-based way, which enables resources to be targeted at the greatest threats, and the minimum burden to be placed on law-abiding citizens.
	In the Treasury's consultation on the regulations, it committed to reviewing their implementation after a period of two years. It is intended that this review will coincide with a review of the underlying third money-laundering directive by the European Commission.

Cuba: Prisoners

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 21 January (WA 204), whether they are pressing the European Union to schedule the next round of political dialogue with Cuba at an early date; and whether the conditions and welfare of political prisoners of all religious faiths will be on the agenda.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Discussions to schedule the next meeting of the political dialogue are ongoing between the EU and Cuba. As human rights is a central element of the EU common position on Cuba and the dialogue itself, we will push for it to be included at the next meeting.
	The UK/EU takes every opportunity to raise human rights concerns with the Cuban Government. During Cuba's universal periodic review, at the UN Human Rights Council on 5 February 2009, the UK made a statement expressing concern about the continued detention of more than 50 political prisoners and called on Cuba to end restrictions on freedom of expression and association.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Rape

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold regarding the dates of requests by the United Nations Rapporteur on Torture for an invitation to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo; and the dates of the replies.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have been informed by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that the special rapporteur on torture has not requested a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the time being.
	The special rapporteur on internally displaced persons visited the DRC in January and briefed the UN Human Rights Office and the Diplomatic Corps. His visit focused on a wide range of human rights abuses. The group of special rapporteurs for the DRC is expected to produce a report on the human rights situation in the country, which will be discussed at the March session of the Human Rights Council.

Education: PSHE

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government following the announcement that Personal, Social and Health Education could become a statutory part of the curriculum for key stages one to four, how Sir Alasdair MacDonald will involve young people in his review of this proposal to ensure he takes their needs into account.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: We have asked Sir Alasdair MacDonald as part of his review to consult with young people, parents, schools, communities and other key stakeholders to find the most effective way forward. He is taking evidence from young people through a variety of forms, including meetings, written evidence, school visits and focus groups, to ensure that their needs are taken into account.

Equality

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how their equality policies are reflected in their foreign policies.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Our objective is for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to be a world leader in addressing discrimination, promoting equality and harnessing differences as an employer, service provider and principal deliverer of UK foreign policy. There are a number of ways in which we do this.
	As an employer, we aim to recruit people from different backgrounds, in order to make better policy. We also promote and use equality impact tools to ensure major policies and initiatives do not have a disproportionately negative impact on any of our staff.
	As a service provider, we aim to ensure that diverse groups and their needs are catered for in contingency planning and ensure that our partners subscribe to the same expectations of behaviour as we do.
	Finally, as a developer and deliverer of UK foreign policy goals, we work to promote anti-discrimination measures in other countries through promoting implementation of international conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We also provide financial and technical support for programmes that target underrepresented or marginalised groups both through our human rights strategic programme fund, as well as other wider UK initiatives such as Chevening scholarships. We also consult regularly diverse stakeholders when formulating policies.

EU: Israel Association Agreement

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the upgrade of the European Union—Israel agreement will next be discussed.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Work on the new agreement to succeed the current EU-Israel Action Plan is being taken forward by the European Commission, the presidency and Israel. These discussions have been delayed by the events in Gaza. There is no formal timetable going forward, but we expect discussions to resume shortly. Once the Commission, presidency and Israel have made progress on the detail, there will be further discussion between Member States.

Families: Single-parent Families

Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty's Government why their policies on reducing child poverty do not include a policy to reduce the number of single-parent families through information, motivation and support for two-parent families.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Government's policies on reducing child poverty cover all children at risk of being in poverty, which includes two-parent as well as single-parent families. As part of this comprehensive approach, we provide targeted support for families who are separating or are at risk of doing so. As part of our measures to combat child poverty, we announced in December that £5.5 million would be available between 2009 and 2011 for new pilots to better co-ordinate local support for separating parents.
	In addition, we also announced in December that more support would be available for new parents to help them prepare for the changes parenthood brings. We are also prioritising support to third-sector organisations offering relationship support. Over the next two years, we will be providing grants of over £7 million to a range of third-sector organisations, such as Relate, working directly with parents experiencing relationship conflict. Information and advice to support parents both in their parenting and their couple relationship is available nationally through the innovative Parent Know How programme. We have also funded the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners (NAPP) to train and support the practitioners that parents turn to for advice, training and information around parenting skills.

Financial Services Authority

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many directors have been refused authorisation for undertaking investment business as being not fit to do so by the Financial Services Authority; and whether the operation of this jurisdiction is satisfactory.

Lord Myners: This is an operational matter for the FSA. I understand that the chairman of the FSA, Lord Turner, will write to my noble friend directly.

Gaza

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of Israel to seek an extension of fishing limits for fishermen in Gaza.

Lord Malloch-Brown: While we have made no specific representations on this issue, we, along with our EU partners, continue to press the Israeli Government to reduce their restrictions on Gaza to meet humanitarian and reconstruction needs, and also to allow Gazans the opportunity to rebuild their economy.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the quartet has raised or will raise with the Government of Israel the question of access to Gaza for building materials.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The quartet representative has raised and will continue to raise with the Government of Israel the issue of allowing building materials in to Gaza to allow for the urgent reconstruction of homes and infrastructure.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the Government of Israel concerning its role in restoring destroyed and damaged houses in Gaza, together with impaired education and health services; and whether they will draw attention to the sewerage situation and its impact on Gaza and Israel.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We would welcome an Israeli contribution to the wider reconstruction effort. The most essential Israeli action that we continue to press for is the immediate free and unhindered passage of humanitarian aid, construction materials and the staff of UN agencies and international non-governmental organisations through the Gaza crossings.

Gaza

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are in emergency shelters in Gaza; and how many are without water or power or both.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ease of movement of goods into Gaza.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The number of truckloads of aid permitted to enter Gaza daily by the Israeli authorities remains insufficient, and humanitarian organisations continue to face serious restrictions to enter Gaza. The UK along with the international community will continue to call for the full opening of the crossings into and out of Gaza.

Gaza

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the opening by Israel of border crossings into Gaza.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The number of truckloads of aid permitted to enter Gaza daily by the Israeli authorities remains insufficient, and humanitarian organisations continue to face serious restrictions to enter Gaza. The UK along with the international community will continue to call for the full opening of the crossings into and out of Gaza.

Gaza

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the short- and long-term supply of electricity, water, sewerage and sanitation in Gaza.

Lord Brett: The latest UN assessment found that the Gaza power plant still does not receive enough fuel to operate at full capacity and much of the Gaza Strip continues to receive only intermittent electricity.
	On 9 February, the UN reported on that 50,000 to 100,000 people were without running water and 15 per cent of the population received running water in their homes only every five or six days. Even before the crisis 80 per cent of drinking water in Gaza did not meet international standards for human consumption. Gaza's water and wastewater system is in need of significant repairs which are estimated to cost approximately $6 million.
	The United Nations (UN) reported on 9 February that three UN shelters remained open in Jabalia, Beach Camp and Deir Al Balah, hosting 388 displaced people.
	With regard to longer-term needs, the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme and European Community, working closely with the Palestinian Authority, will take the lead in co-ordinating international efforts on reconstruction. They are currently planning a full needs assessment which is expected to last two to three months. This will include a full assessment of needs for electricity, water and sanitation.

Gaza

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they will hold with the government of France with a view to including Hamas in a government of national unity covering all Palestinian Territories.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We support Egyptian efforts to work with President Abbas to reunite Palestinian politics and ensure the authority of the Palestinian Authority runs throughout the Palestinian Territories. However, the quartet has made clear that Hamas needs to make significant movement towards rejecting violence, accepting Israel's right to exist, and recognising previous agreements. We discuss these issues frequently with France and other partners.

Gaza

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will seek access by sea to Gaza for imports and exports, if supplies transported by road prove to be insufficient.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have no reason to believe that sea-borne access to Gaza is any more straightforward than access by land. So we will continue to press the Israeli Government to allow full access.

Gaza

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the call by 80 members of the British Jewish community in a letter to the Guardian on 10 January for a programme of boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel after the recent military action in Gaza.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We believe divestment, sanctions and boycotts directed at Israel would be counterproductive. Isolation of Israel would advance neither Britain's influence nor the prospects for peace in the Middle East.

Gaza

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the Government of Israel about any civilians who have been blinded by the recent military action in Gaza.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have no plans to make specific representations on this issue. But we have been very clear that we condemn any attack on innocent civilians. UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which was proposed by the UK, was emphatic in its condemnation of all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism.

Government Departments: Staffing

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Statement repeated by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 25 November 2008 (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 1368—70) which stated that the Department for Work and Pensions "reduced its staffing by 31,000 and has increased productivity overall by 12 per cent, as confirmed by the National Audit Office", whether they have plans for other departments to do likewise; and, if so, whether the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be required to participate in such plans.

Lord Myners: Having already delivered £26.5 billion of savings through the Gershon efficiency programme, over the next three years all departments will go further and achieve additional efficiency savings, including Defra which will deliver more than £379 million of value-for-money savings by 2010-11. Departments are responsible for achieving their savings and there is no central workforce reduction target.

Government: IT

Lord Steinberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they will do to improve the time and budget success rate of information technology contracts.

Lord Myners: The responsibility of managing all contracts rests with the contracting department or organisation. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) is working with departments on a number of initiatives to help them improve procurement and project management skills and capability; the negotiation, agreement and subsequent management of contracts; and the improved management of projects defined in those contracts. In particular, the OGC is working closely with colleagues in the Cabinet Office to ensure that a greater number of ICT contracts are fulfilled within time and budget.

Government: IT

Lord Steinberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of their relationship with the Japanese company Fujitsu.

Lord Myners: Fujitsu is a strategically important supplier of goods and services to a number of government organisations, primarily in the area of information and communications technologies (ICT).

Government: IT

Lord Steinberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the performance of their information technology contracts, and whether any cost over-runs are expected.

Lord Myners: The responsibility of managing all contracts, including performance assessment and budget projections, rests with the contracting department or organisation. In the area of ICT, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) and the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council work with departments to monitor ICT supplier performance; these assessments are commercially confidential.

Government: IT

Lord Steinberg: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any of their information technology projects are experiencing difficulties; and why 45 projects are considered by the Office of Government Commerce to be unachievable.

Lord Myners: Of 2007 OGC Gateway reviews completed to date, 964 were categorised as having been carried out on IT enabled projects.
	Since the introduction of delivery confidence in June 2008, four projects have received a single red delivery confidence rating, indicating that successful delivery of the project, as currently constituted and defined, appears to be unachievable and that the project may need re-baselining and/or its overall viability reassessed. The Gateway report contains recommendations which, if adopted, should help the project to improve its potential for success.
	Prior to June 2008, 41 projects received a consecutive red review, indicating that at the time of the review one or more of the recommendations, contained within a review report, needed to be carried out urgently. The red status was not a reflection of the overall status of the project and did not necessarily mean that the Office of Government Commerce considered the projects to be unachievable.

Government: Legislation

Earl Attlee: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pages of primary legislation (excluding money bills) have been passed in each of the past 15 years.

Lord Bach: The number of pages of primary legislation (excluding Money Bills) passed in each of the past 15 years is as follows:
	
		
			 Year Number of pages 
			 1994 1,612 
			 1995 2,563 
			 1996 2,617 
			 1997 1,648 
			 1998 1,991 
			 1999 1,814 
			 2000 3,173 
			 2001 788 
			 2002 2,264 
			 2003 2,871 
			 2004 2,721 
			 2005 1,686 
			 2006 3,406 
			 2007 1,974 
			 2008 2,388

Hajj Advisory Group

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Hajj Advisory Group was established.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government which Muslim organisations were consulted when they established the Hajj Advisory Group.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government who are the current members of the Hajj Advisory Group; how they are chosen; and what criteria are used for selecting members.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a charter or constitution was agreed upon the establishment of the Hajj Advisory Group; and, if so, whether they will place a copy in the Library of the House.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have provided to the Hajj Advisory Group and the British Hajj Delegation in each of the past five years.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Hajj Advisory Group (HAG) was established in July 2001 and abolished in 2006.
	The Hajj Advisory Group charter contained the criteria for appointment of members to the group. This was based on the particular skills and contributions an individual could bring to the group in terms of professional experience in relative fields (eg fund raising, medical, welfare, administration and communication) and their work within established communities.
	Members from various Muslim organisations were appointed to the HAG. The composition of the group reflected the diversity of traditions within the Muslim community. Our records do not hold the details of which organisations were consulted when the HAG was established. However, they show a variety of Muslim organisations were consulted reflecting the diversity and geographic locations of the Muslim community in the UK.
	The permanent members of the HAG were drawn from the following organisations:
	Islamic Cultural Centre;
	Union of Muslim Organisations;
	Muslim Council of Britain;
	Muslim Association of Britain;
	World Federation of Khoji Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Community;
	Association of British Hujjaj;
	Muslim College; and
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	The charter established four working groups as follows:
	Fund Raising;
	Publicity;
	Strategic Planning; and
	Medical and Social.
	The primary aim was to act as a fund-raising body to finance the important work of the British Hajj Delegation (BHD) from voluntary contributions by members of British Muslim communities. By 2004 it was clear that the HAG was unable to raise these funds, necessitating further investment from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to ensure the maintenance of exceptional medical support to British pilgrims, in addition to the FCO provision of core consular support to this event.
	In 2004 and 2005, the FCO provided a grant of £20,000 to the HAG. The grant was administered by the group's secretariat based at the Islamic Cultural Centre in London. The secretariat received £12,000 to cover its administrative costs. Funding was withdrawn in 2006 when the group was abolished.
	In the past five years the FCO has provided the BHD with £40,000 in 2004, £60,000 in 2005, £70,000 in 2006, £80,000 in 2007 and £90,000 in 2008.
	Logistical and administrative support is provided for the BHD from FCO administrative resources (eg organising meetings, circulating documents, answering letters from members of the public etc).
	The FCO currently funds a full-time Hajj desk officer to support arrangements for the BHD.

Health: Irish Community Groups

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the 2001 Irish Census ethnic group question, made as a result of representations from Irish community groups for information to measure health inequalities among the population, has been put to effective use.

Lord Darzi of Denham: There have been a number of analyses of health status by the Irish ethnic category from the 2001 census. These analyses include: infant mortality; self reported health; long-standing limiting illness; heart disease; prevalence of diabetes; smoking; obesity and mental health.
	These analyses confirm that people of Irish descent living in England are at risk from infant mortality, smoking and smoking-related illness, obesity, and mental health problems to a greater extent than the general population. Irish Travellers, along with Romany Gypsies, experience the worst health status of any disadvantaged community in England.
	The department and the National Health Service have used this new understanding to help focus their efforts in addressing health inequalities. For example, improving the health status of Irish Travellers is a key part of the department's flagship Pacesetters programme, aimed at addressing health inequalities that arise from discrimination.

Homeless People

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homeless people died on the streets of the United Kingdom in each year from 2004 to 2008.

Baroness Andrews: The department does not collect information on the numbers of rough sleepers that died on the streets of England.
	On 18 November we published a new rough sleeping strategy, No One Left Out: Communities Ending Rough Sleeping where we promote prevention of rough sleeping in all areas through effective housing options and a strengthened safety net by promoting access to the private rented sector for rough sleepers and establishing best practice through our enhanced housing options trailblazer programme.
	We will also further improve access to health for rough sleepers with multiple needs by developing a range of responses to people with the most chaotic lives and complex needs including the Department of Health's health trainers programme and also piloting improved hospital discharge processes for rough sleepers.
	In 2007-2008, £18.8 million of Supporting People grant was spent by local authorities to provide hostel and other accommodation to rough sleepers and single homeless to ensure that they get the help they need to rebuild their lives and that no one has to sleep rough.

House of Lords Reform

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government in view of their intention to bring forward proposals to reform the House of Lords, what is the purpose of inviting nominations, other than Ministers of the Crown, to become Life Peers; and whether there are any new instructions to the Appointments Commission.

Lord Bach: Nomination for the creation of party-political life Peers, other than those appointed to serve as Ministers of the Crown, is a matter for the political parties. The Appointments Commission is an independent body accepting non-party political nominations and its remit has not changed.
	In its response to the 2008 Government White Paper on House of Lords reform, the Public Administration Select Committee made a number of recommendations about the process of appointment to the House of Lords. The Government will respond in due course.

Human Rights

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will request each foreign Government with whom they have a memorandum of understanding concerning extradition or deportation to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and its optional protocol.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK regularly lobbies foreign Governments who have not ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) to take steps towards doing so. Our recent efforts have included, where relevant, lobbying in the countries with which we have memoranda of understanding regarding deportations with assurances, and countries with which we have extradition arrangements. Lebanon, with which the UK has a memorandum of understanding on deportation with assurances, ratified the optional protocol in December 2008.

Human Rights

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 28 January (WA 56), whether as a matter of international law it would be open to the United Kingdom to ratify the Fourth Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights subject to reservations to article 2(1), similar to the reservations made by the United Kingdom when ratifying the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights relating to the particular nature of British nationality and immigration arrangements.

Lord Bach: This would in theory be possible. Article 57 of the European Convention on Human Rights (which applies to the Fourth Protocol by virtue of Article 6 of that Protocol) permits a state to make a reservation in respect of any particular provision to the extent that any law then in force in its territory is not in conformity with the provision. Reservations of a general character are not permitted. However, under Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, any reservation to a treaty must not be incompatible with the object and purpose of the treaty, so it would depend on the terms of the reservations required.

Human Rights

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their timetable for the start and completion of their second consultation on measures to comply with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v United Kingdom requiring prisoners to be able to vote in Parliamentary elections.

Lord Bach: In response to the Hirst (No. 2) judgment, the Government committed to undertake a two-stage consultation process. The first stage concluded in March 2007. The Government remain committed to carrying out this second, more detailed public consultation. An announcement will be made in due course.

Immigration: Sub-Saharan Africa

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people originating from African countries south of the Sahara are living in the United Kingdom, broken down by country of origin.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Luce, dated February 2009.
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Question asking how many people originating from African countries south of the Sahara are living in the United Kingdom, broken down by country of origin. (HL 1491)
	The Office for National Statistics collects data on country of birth on the Annual Population Survey (APS) which covers residents of the UK. Estimates from the APS for each country south of the Sahara can be seen in Table 1.
	
		
			 Table 1: Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom from African countries south of the Sahara3, by country of birth4,5,6, April 2007 to March 2008 
			   thousands 
			  Estimate CV CI +/- 
			 African countries south of the Sahara 1,059 A 42 
			 Angola 13 C 5 
			 Benin :   
			 Botswana 2 D 2 
			 Burkina -   
			 Burundi 2 D 2 
			 Cameroon 11 D 4 
			 Cape Verde -   
			 Central African Republic 1 D 1 
			 Chad -   
			 Comoros :   
			 Congo 10 D 4 
			 Congo (Democratic Republic) 14 C 5 
			 Cole d'Ivoire 5 D 3 
			 Djibouti :   
			 Equatorial Guinea :   
			 Eritrea 8 D 4 
			 Ethiopia 13 C 5 
			 Gabon -   
			 Gambia The 9 D 4 
			 Ghana 94 B 13 
			 Guinea 2 D 2 
			 Guinea-Bissau 1 D 1 
			 Kenya 128 B 15 
			 Lesotho 1 D 1 
			 Liberia 1 D 1 
			 Madagascar -   
			 Malawi 20 C 6 
			 Mali :   
			 Mauritania :   
			 Mauritius 31 C 7 
			 Mozambique 3 D 2 
			 Namibia 2 D 2 
			 Niger :   
			 Nigeria 135 B 15 
			 Reunion :   
			 Rwanda 3 D 2 
			 Sao Tome And Principe 1 D 1 
			 Senegal 1 D 2 
			 Seychelles 3 D 2 
			 Sierra Leone 22 C 6 
			 Somalia 93 B 13 
			 South Africa 209 A  
			 St Helena 1 D 2 
			 Sudan 11 D 4 
			 Swaziland :   
			 Tanzania 26 C 7 
			 Togo :  19 
			 Uganda 55 B 10 
			 Zambia 28 C 7 
			 Zimbabwe 97 B 13 
		
	
	
		
			 Statistical Robustness1 
			 Estimates are considered precise (a) 0 = CV < 5 
			 Estimates are reasonably precise (b) 5 = CV < 10 
			 Estimates are considered acceptable (c) lo = CV < 15 
			 Estimates are not considered reliable for practical purposes (d)  CV < 20 
		
	
	Source:Annual Population Survey (APS)/Labour Force Survey (LFS), ONS
	Totals may not am due to rounding
	" - " = not available
	" : " insufficient data
	Notes:
	1. Standard error is an estimate of the margin of error associated with a sample survey. The coefficient of variation (CV) indicates the robustness of each estimate. It is defined as:
	% = (standard error � estimate) x 100
	2. CI+/- is the upper(+) and lower(-) 95% confidence knits. It is defined as: 1.96 x standard error
	3. The definition of countries south of the Sahara is taken from the United Nations definition found online here http:/neas.un.org/unpp/definition.html
	4. Estimates are based on the Annual Population Survey (APS) which is the Labour Force Survey (LFS) plus various sample boosts.
	5. It should be noted that the LFS:
	excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent
	excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (eg hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc)
	is grossed to population estimates of those living in private households that only include migrants staying for 12 months or more. An adjustment is made for those who live in some NHS accommodation and halls of residence whose parents live in the UK. For this reason the sum of those born in the UK and outside the UK may not agree with the published population estimate.
	6. The LFS weighting does not adjust for non-response bias by the country of birth variable.

Immigration: Sub-Saharan Africa

Lord Luce: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the range of professional skills held by the people originating from African countries south of the Sahara and now living in the United Kingdom, broken down by country of origin.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The tables below show the breakdown of qualification levels of working-age adults1 born in African countries south of the Sahara2. We are unable to break this down by country of origin or professional occupation as the sample sizes are too small and any estimates would be unreliable. The levels given in the table below are National Qualifications Framework (NQF) levels and the data are taken from the 2007 annual population survey (APS) as this provided the greatest sample size and therefore the most reliable estimates.
	
		
			  Numbers breakdown 
			 Occupation Group Level 4 and above Level 3 Level 2 Below Level 2 No qualifications Total 
			 Managers and Senior Officials 38,400 9,400 11,000 8,300 1,600 68,700 
			 Professional occupations 60,800 4,900 2,700 4,300 * 73,200 
			 Associate Professional and Technical 50,000 10,000 8,100 6,800 400 75,400 
			 Administrative and Secretarial 16,100 10,900 11,100 10,300 2,100 50,500 
			 Skilled Trades Occupations 6,200 5,700 6,600 5,000 2,700 26,200 
			 Personal Service Occupations 15,500 10,700 16,400 8,900 4,200 55,800 
			 Sales and Customer Service Occupations 8,400 5,100 8,400 8,700 3,900 34,500 
			 Process, Plant and Machine Operatives 4,000 3,200 7,100 8,100 8,700 31,000 
			 Elementary Occupations 13,400 9,500 15,400 22,000 15,400 75,700 
			 Total3 212,700 69,500 86,800 82,400 39,400 490,900 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage Breakdown 
			 Occupation Group Level 4 and above Level 3 Level 2 Below Level 2 No qualifications Total 
			 Managers and Senior Officials 56% 14% 16% 12% 2% 14% 
			 Professional occupations 83% 7% 4% 6% * 15% 
			 Associate Professional and Technical 66% 13% 11% 9% 1 % 15% 
			 Administrative and Secretarial 32% 22% 22% 20% 4% 10% 
			 Skilled Trades Occupations 24% 22% 25% 19% 10% 5% 
			 Personal Service Occupations 28% 19% 29% 16% 8% 11% 
			 Sales and Customer Service Occupations 24% 15% 24% 25% 11% 7% 
			 Process, Plant and Machine Operatives 13% 10% 23% 26% 28% 6% 
			 Elementary Occupations 18% 13% 20% 29% 20% 15% 
			 Total4 43% 14% 18% 17% 8% 100% 
		
	
	1 Men aged 19-64 and women aged 19-59.
	2 Includes Angola, Benin, Sao Tome and Principe, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sudan, Southern Sudan, Uganda, Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Botswana, Comoros, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Maghreb, Mauritania, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo.
	3 This is the total of the above occupational groups and does not include unemployed people.
	4 This is the total of the above occupational groups and does not include unemployed people.
	The percentages above are subject to sampling variability. Most of the confidence intervals range from 3 to 8 percentage points ie, the true value of an estimate may be up to 8 percentage points above or below the figure stated.
	*Numbers are too small and have been suppressed.
	Source: 2007 annual population survey (APS). The 2008 APS is not yet available

India: Freedom of Religion

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what their response is to the recommendations by United Nations Rapporteurs on freedom of religion or belief about the extension of Scheduled Caste status to Muslims and Christians in India; and whether they will ask the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative to pursue the matter.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We welcome the report by the United Nations special rapporteur on freedom of religion following her recent visit to India. It will provide a useful point of reference for human rights issues in India including as part of the ongoing EU-India human rights dialogue. The Government have not asked the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, an independent international non-governmental organisation, to pursue the matter. We, and our EU colleagues, will continue to monitor the situation and raise any concerns about incidents of religious intolerance in India with the appropriate human rights agencies in India.

Iran

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether adherence to the international rule of law and to the United Kingdom's obligations to the United Nations will remain paramount in their future policy towards Iran.

Lord Malloch-Brown: As a matter of absolute principle, UK policy is made in accordance with international law, and we take our obligations to the UN very seriously.
	We also expect Iran to abide by its own international obligations, including by respecting the international human rights commitments to which it is signed up, and abiding by the five UN Security Council resolutions passed since 31 July 2006.

Iran: British Council

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask the Government of Iran to reconsider their actions against British Council staff which have led to the suspension of the British Council's operations in Iran.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have been very clear with the Iranians that we consider this behaviour unacceptable, and that they should allow the British Council to restart its operation as soon as possible. The Iranians have said that they would be prepared to negotiate a new cultural co-operation agreement which would allow the British Council to re-open. However, they have not responded to our attempts to start discussions on this.

Iran: Human Rights

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Nations Secretary-General and the presidency of the European Union have received satisfactory replies from the Government of Iran, following their representations about the personal safety of Dr Shirin Ebadi and her ability to function as a lawyer in Iran.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Despite several representations to the Iranian authorities regarding the treatment of Dr Shirin Ebadi, we have not received any reassurances from the Government of Iran and as such we remain very concerned about her safety. We continue to monitor the situation closely and urge the Iranian Government to authorise the re-opening of Dr Ebadi's Human Rights Defenders Centre and end the intimidation campaign against her and her staff.

Iraq

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask the government of Iraq why they insisted on the reopening of the Baghdad Museum, against the advice of staff who were still working on the rearrangement and reclassification of antiquities that had been disturbed during the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The decision to reopen the Baghdad Museum is an issue for the museum's administration together with the Government of Iraq. Iraq's museums and archaeological sites have suffered great damage. The UK firmly supports the Government of Iraq in their efforts to protect and restore Iraq's cultural heritage and has been pleased to support projects to this effect with the British Museum and British Library.

Israel

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any representations from members of the public expressing concern for the future viability of the state of Israel.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We receive a great deal of correspondence from members of the public expressing concern about the current situation in the Middle East. Since the Gaza crisis began we have received more than 1,800 letters. We do not hold statistics on how many concern the viability of Israel.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the contribution the current review of the European UnionIsrael Association Agreement will make to the achievement of genuine peace between Israel and Palestine.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Achieving such peace is a key objective of UK and EU policy. It is at the heart of our relations with Israeland others in the region. We expect the new EU-Israel Association Agreement to provide further opportunities to work with Israel to secure such peace.

Israel and Palestine

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for the quartet's Middle East envoy, Tony Blair, of the appointment of Senator George Mitchell.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK welcomes the appointment of Senator Mitchell. We do not see any implication for the role of Tony Blair, who focuses on improving the day to day life of Palestinians. We look forward to working with both Senator Mitchell and Tony Blair to make real progress towards peace in 2009.

Malaysia: War Crimes

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what response they will give to the government and parliament of Malaysia following their recent proposals for war crimes trials for countries that do not support the International Criminal Court.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We are aware of the proposal by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir to convene a war crimes tribunal in Malaysia. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction, under the Rome Statute, for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. We believe that the court will be a key element in the international community's fight to end impunity for those who have committed the world's most serious crimes. The UK is a strong supporter of the ICC and strengthening that court will be the focus of our efforts.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the views of the new Government of the United States in respect of Middle East peace.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We welcome President Barack Obama's commitment to pursue peace in the Middle East immediately. We will seek to work with the new Government of the United States to deliver such a peace.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will bring to the attention of President Obama the 46 vetoes exercised by previous governments of the United States since 1968 in relation to United Nations Security Council Resolutions about the Occupied Territories.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We welcomed US support in December for UN Security Council Resolution 1850 which set out the vision of a two-state solution. We will work closely with the Obama Administration, including at the UN, to work to create an independent Palestinian state living alongside a secure Israel.

Middle East Peace Process

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take within the appropriate framework to enhance contacts with Hamas to assist the long-term peace process in the Middle East.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We do not believe it is productive to talk to Hamas directly until it makes significant movement towards the quartet principles of rejecting violence, accepting Israel's right to exist and recognising previous agreements. The Arab League has mandated Egypt to communicate with Hamas. We are in regular contact with both the Arab League and Egypt.

Money: Banknotes

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many banknotes issued by United Kingdom commercial banks are currently in circulation; of which denominations; and what is their total value by bank.

Lord Myners: Commercial banks that issue their own banknotes are required by law to submit data to HM Revenue and Customs regarding their average notes in circulation over a four-week period. The total value of notes in circulation reported for the period ending 24 January 2009 are as follows:
	
		
			  Total value of notes of denomination 5 and upwards Total value of notes of denomination under 5 Total 
			 The Bank of Ireland 614,755,824 278,105 615,033,929 
			 First Trust Bank 333,753,000 0 333,753,000 
			 The Northern Bank Limited 304,884,356 444,248 305,328,604 
			 The Ulster Bank Limited 466,666,935 0 466,666,935 
		
	
	
		
			  Total value of notes of denomination 5 and upwards Total value of notes of denomination under 5 Total 
			 Bank of Scotland 954,088,329 4,019,819 958,108,147 
			 The Royal Bank of Scotland 1,147,074,310 16,848,226 1,163,922,536 
			 Clydesdale Bank 1,158,172,429 0 1,158,172,429

National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence

Baroness Noakes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence has sufficient funding to allow it to undertake studies and to issue guidance on issues that are already awaiting further work.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is sufficiently resourced to deliver the activity set out in its business plan.

Nationality

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office for National Statistics recognises English as a nationality.

Lord Patel of Bradford: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Stoddart of Swindon, dated February 2009.
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Question asking Her Majesty's Government whether the Office for National Statistics recognises English as a nationality; and, if not, why. (HL1428)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does recognise English as a national identity. For the 2011 Census, we have proposed asking everyone to describe their national identity. English is one of the specific tick boxes.
	However ONS treats nationality as synonymous with citizenship, which has a legal definition related to passport eligibility. ONS is planning to ask a citizenship question in the 2011 Census, based upon passport eligibility. This will measure UK citizenship.
	Both nationality and national identity are currently collected in social surveys, such as the Labour Force Survey and the Annual Population Survey.

Northern Ireland Office: Bonuses

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what directions they gave to the Northern Ireland Office concerning the payment of staff bonuses.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The SCS reward arrangements are managed centrally by the Cabinet Office and are based on recommendations by the independent Senior Salaries Review Body, including the size of the non-consolidated performance related pot. The reward arrangements for staff below SCS are delegated to individual departments, and agreed with HM Treasury, including that element of the pay bill which can be used for bonuses.

Northern Ireland Office: Bonuses

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Lord President (Baroness Royall of Blaisdon) on 26 January (WA 16) concerning bonus payments made to staff of the Northern Ireland Office, since when the special bonus scheme has mirrored that of the Northern Ireland Civil Service; how that decision was taken; by whom; whether the appropriate trade unions were consulted; and, if so, what was their view.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The special bonus scheme was introduced for all non-industrial staff in the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1989. An equivalent scheme was introduced in the Northern Ireland Office following pay delegation in 1998. The trade union side was consulted and was unable to agree fully with the terms of the scheme.

Northern Ireland Office: Bonuses

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 3 February (WA 111) concerning the payment of bonuses to staff in the Northern Ireland Office, what consideration has been given to amending the spending review settlements to remove or reduce the elements of bonus payments.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: No consideration has been given to amending the spending review settlements. For Senior Civil Service staff we are awaiting the report of the Senior Salaries Review Body. For staff at grades D2 to A, we are awaiting HM Treasury and Cabinet Office guidelines on the pay remit.

Northern Ireland Office: Bonuses

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 4 February (WA 132) concerning the reduction of Northern Ireland Office staff, whether the administrative budgets include bonus payments to staff and, if so, whether they will be reviewed.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Bonus payments are made from administration cost budgets. All budgets are reviewed on a regular basis.

Northern Ireland Office: Electricity

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was spent on electricity by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the past five years.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The following table shows the department's (excluding agencies and executive NDPBs) electricity expenditure for the past five financial years.
	
		
			 Financial Year Electricity Expenditure ('000s) 
			 2007-08 637 
			 2006-07 565 
			 2005-06 541 
			 2004-05 383 
			 2003-04 386 
		
	
	The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has undertaken various initiatives to ensure energy efficiency such as:
	presentations to staff on sustainable development, which includes advice on energy efficiency;provision of information on the department's intranet, which focuses the need to turn off PCs, monitors, printers and copiers when they are not in use;using wind farms as a form of electricity supply. Twenty-five per cent of the supply to the Stormont Estate is provided in this way;premises officers in each of the NIO's buildings are required to report electricity meter readings on a monthly basis. This report is then used to analyse energy use and cost; andthe departmental board recently endorsed a Cabinet Office strategy on greening ICT. The key objectives of this initiative are to make ICT more energy efficient and reduce CO2 emissions.

Northern Ireland Office: Overtime

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what circumstances overtime payments are made to officials of the Northern Ireland Office; who authorises such activities; and how it is monitored.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Overtime may be paid to staff at grades D2 to A and is worked in response to business needs. Line managers authorise the working of overtime in advance and approve subsequent claims. Budget managers monitor and control the use of overtime.

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new staff were recruited by the Northern Ireland Office in 2008.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Eighty new permanent staff were recruited by the Northern Ireland Office in 2008. The majority of these new posts are required to deliver front-line services.

Northern Ireland Office: Taxis

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 29 January (WA 76) regarding expenditure on taxis by the Northern Ireland Office in the first two weeks of the 2007-08 financial year, what was the disproportionate cost of providing the costs of those journeys included within incidental expenses; who calculated the cost; and on what basis.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Accurate expenditure on taxi journeys included within incidental expenses could only be recorded by means of a manual investigation of all travel and subsistence claims since that two-week period.
	Departmental records show that for the 2007-08 financial year, there were 4,814 travel and subsistence claims processed. It would therefore be difficult to measure the cost of a manual investigation with a high degree of accuracy, but it would certainly be higher that the disproportionate cost threshold of 750.

Northern Ireland Office: Travel

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 4 February (WA 132) concerning the cost of travel to Great Britain, what is the estimated cost of providing the amount paid for such travel for Northern Ireland Office staff in each of the past five years and why is that considered disproportionate.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: Costs relating to staff travel to Great Britain are held in a variety of expenditure codes within the travel heading. As these codes also show costs for travel within Northern Ireland, the isolation of costs for journeys to Great Britain would involve a manual investigation of payments.
	Our records show that for the 2007-08 financial year alone there were 26,885 transactions within these travel codes. It would therefore be very difficult to measure the cost of a manual investigation with any degree of accuracy, but it would certainly be much higher that the disproportionate cost threshold of 750.

Northern Ireland Office: Travel

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much was paid in travel costs by the Northern Ireland Office in each of the past five financial years for staff on official business.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The following table shows the department's (excluding agencies and executive NDPBs) travel expenditure for the last five financial years.
	
		
			 Financial Year Travel Expenditure ('000s) 
			 2007-08 3,187 
			 2006-07 3,518 
			 2005-06 3,350 
			 2004-05 3,091 
			 2003-04 3,036 
		
	
	The department advises that staff should ensure that any business-related journeys are a necessity and that all alternative methods of carrying out the tasks to be performed are investigatedfor example, use of video conferencing equipment to reduce the need to travel to meetings. The Northern Ireland Office has offices in both Belfast and London and due to the nature of the work it carries out, travel to Great Britain by its staff is sometimes unavoidable. Where this is the case, the most cost-effective means of travelling is sought.

Northern Ireland Parades Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 26 January (WA 17) concerning salary payments to the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, what factors were considered in the review of salaries undertaken by the Secretary of State.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Secretary of State considered propriety and his legal obligations under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998 (as amended).

Northern Ireland: Parity of Esteem

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in the context of Northern Ireland, the promotion of equality and parity of esteem is a human right.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: There is no specific right along these lines contained in the Human Rights Act 1998 or in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). However, Article 14 of the ECHR prohibits unjustified discrimination in the enjoyment of any other of the convention rights. In addition, Section 75 of the Northern Ireland 1998 places a duty on public authorities in Northern Ireland to have regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between certain groups, including persons of different religious belief and political opinion.
	Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast agreement, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission was tasked with consulting and advising on the scope for additional rights for inclusion in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland; the agreement stated that such rights were to reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity and ethos of both communities and parity of esteem.

Pakistan

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the Government of the United States following President Obama's statement in January that he would offer them move help to counter extremism; and whether, in particular, they will propose a co-ordinated programme to help the Pakistani authorities in arresting Maulana Fazlullah and other Taliban leaders in Swat for the murders of police officers and other serious crimes.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We have had a series of discussions with the US Administration on issues surrounding extremism, including during my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary's visit to Washington on 3 February 2009 and the visit to London of the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, on 5 February 2009.
	We support the Government of Pakistan in their efforts to tackle violent extremist groups, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda. We have a broad programme of counter-terrorism co-operation with Pakistan, including capacity building assistance to law enforcement and projects aimed at countering the drivers of radicalisation. We support Pakistan's multi-pronged approach to tackling the security threat, combining security measures with improvements in development and governance. We aim to ensure that our approach and that of the US Government's are complementary.

Pakistan: Blasphemy Laws

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 22 January (WA 22829), whether any of the Government-funded work in Pakistan is aimed specifically at providing protection for lawyers and other advocates for those facing prosecution for blasphemy; and, if so, what that costs.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Our high commission in Islamabad supports a range of programme and project work to promote human rights in Pakistan. This includes projects to improve access to justice by supporting the creation of a lawyers' network of human rights advocates and support for community-based lawyers. There is no funding specifically for the protection of those advocates acting for people facing prosecution for blasphemy.

Pakistan: Blasphemy Laws

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Pakistan about the detention in custody of four children on charges of blasphemy and about the use of the blasphemy law in Pakistan against members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Representatives of the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan are updating officials at our high commission as the case of the four children progresses through the district court.
	With our EU partners, we regularly call for the Government of Pakistan to take measures to protect freedom of religion or belief and repeal or reform discriminatory blasphemy legislation for the benefit of all minority communities in Pakistan, including the Ahmadiyyas.

Pakistan: Blasphemy Laws

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Malloch-Brown on 20 January (WA 199), whether they are monitoring the commitment from the Government of Pakistan to introduce checks that would regulate investigations into allegations against individuals or organisations accused of apostasy and blasphemy; and whether they will be reporting on such monitoring.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Government continue to monitor closely the application of blasphemy legislation in Pakistan. This commitment was made by the Government of Pakistan in their response to the working group on the UN Human Rights Council's universal periodic review (UPR) in May 2008. During the UPR we asked how the Government of Pakistan planned to implement the human rights instruments it had ratified to safeguard the rights of all its citizens, including non-Muslim minorities, by repealing laws that discriminate against them. Since the UPR, the Government of Pakistan have not instituted any administrative checks to carry out this commitment. The UK with our EU partners therefore raised this in January through a demarche which called for progress on this commitment.

Parents

Lord Northbourne: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Department for Education and Skills' publication Making Sense of Citizenship makes no reference to the role and responsibilities of parents as citizens in our society, as discussed in the Children's Plan as most important in raising, caring for, maintaining and educating future generations of citizens.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Making Sense of Citizenship handbook, published in 2006, is a continuing professional development (CPD) resource for schools and it is intended to improve teachers' subject knowledge and teaching strategies. The citizenship curriculum equips young people with the knowledge, skills and understanding to play an effective role in public life. The roles and responsibilities of parents are covered in particular in personal, social health and economic education.

Passports

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what charge is made to the holder for United Kingdom passports issued by United Kingdom diplomatic missions overseas; how that compares with the charge made for United Kingdom passports issued in the United Kingdom; whether those charges have to be paid before the passport is issued; and whether they cover the full costs of the service.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Charges for UK passports issued by UK diplomatic missions overseas are as follows:
	119.0032-page adult passport;
	76.0032-page child (under-16) passport;
	144.0048-page jumbo passport;
	55.00emergency passport; and
	70.50temporary passport.
	Charges for UK passports issued in the United Kingdom are as follows:
	
		
			 Category Posted In Person Fast Track Fast Track Collect Premium 
			 Adult 72 97 109 114 
			 Child 46 81 91 94 
			 Jumbo 85 105 109 123 
			 Collective 39 54   
		
	
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) sets the fees for, and issues, approximately 6 million passports every year to British nationals living in the UK. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is responsible for providing a passport issuing service to British nationals living or travelling abroad. The FCO issues fewer than 400,000 passports a year from 100 locations. Although we run an efficient operation, we cannot match the economies of scale that the IPS is able to muster in issuing more than 10 times as many passports from just seven locations.
	The FCO is obliged by the Treasury to recover the full costs of delivering the consular service, which includes the issuing of passports. The fees are calculated on the basis of the cost of staff, accommodation and overheads involved proportionate to the average time taken worldwide to perform the service. The calculations are carefully scrutinised by the Treasury, approved by the Privy Council and laid before Parliament.
	All charges for passports issued overseas need to be paid for in full before the passport is issued. In exceptional circumstances an emergency passport may be issued where the customer is not able to pay. However, they will be required to sign an undertaking to repay and an invoice will be issued subsequently to recover the outstanding moneys.

Passports

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many passports were issued by the British Embassy in Dublin in each of the past five years.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The number of passports issued through our embassy in Dublin in each of the past five financial years is as follows:
	
		
			 Financial Year Total No. of Passports 
			 2003-04 10,024 
			 2004-05 10,893 
			 2005-06 10,817 
			 2006-07 11,817 
			 2007-08 9,671 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from the consular annual returns.

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that police officers in Northern Ireland are recruited in a fair manner, irrespective of religion.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The recruiting process for police officers assesses candidate competency against the role profile for the job. This is consistent with practice across the UK. Competencies tested reflect national standards and measure ability to perform the role.
	The 50:50 recruitment procedures are only applicable to those applicants in the merit pool, by which time they have demonstrated that they meet the required UK standards.

Post Office: Banking

Lord Lawson of Blaby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what protection they offer, through the United Kingdom Financial Services Compensation Scheme or in any other way, to United Kingdom depositors with savings accounts at the Post Office.

Lord Myners: The deposit guarantee schemes directive (94/19/EC) sets the minimum terms on which depositors are protected throughout the EU.
	Deposit taking is a regulated activity. Firms offering savings accounts must be authorised and supervised by the appropriate regulator. Depositors in savings accounts that are managed by firms authorised by the Financial Services Authority are eligible for protection by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Full details of the level of guarantee and the eligibility criteria for compensation are available at www.fscs.org.uk. Depositors in savings accounts that are managed by firms authorised by a regulator in another country are eligible for protection by the deposit guarantee scheme in that country.

Post Office: Banking

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Government of the Republic of Ireland concerning the future funding of financial services provided by the Bank of Ireland through United Kingdom Post Offices.

Lord Myners: The provision of financial services through United Kingdom post offices is a commercial matter between the Post Office and contracting firms.

Presbyterian Mutual Society

Lord Trimble: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are considering with regard to the protection of depositors in the Presbyterian Mutual Society.

Lord Myners: The Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) is an industrial and provident society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland is the registrar.
	The administrator of PMS has said that it is helping the FSA with its inquiries into activities carried out by the firm in relation to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Government are also carrying out a review of the regulatory framework for credit unions and industrial and provident societies in Northern Ireland in association with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland, which is the department with responsibility for these matters within the devolved Administration. This review was announced at PBR 2008.
	Both inquiries are at an early stage and consequently it would be premature for the Government or the FSA to offer further comment at this stage.

Republic of Ireland: Treaties

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what treaties they have signed with the Republic of Ireland since 1997; what was their purpose; and, in each case, how they monitor them.

Lord Malloch-Brown: Please find below a list of treaties between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland that have been signed since 1997. In each case these treaties were negotiated and signed to further the UK's bilateral relationship with Ireland on matters of shared interest. They encompass a range of topics and as such the monitoring arrangements are tailored to the individual treaty in question.
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Ireland Establishing the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
	Signed: 26/08/1997
	Entry Into Force (EIF): 24/09/1997
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 054/ 1997: Cm 3753 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-1997/
	See September 1997.
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland (Good Friday Agreement)
	Signed: 10/04/1998
	EIF: 02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 050/ 2000: Cm 4705 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ (see May 2000)
	Title Protocol between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on income and Capital Gains signed at Dublin on 2 June 1976, as amended by the Protocols signed at Dublin on 28 October 1976 and at London on 7 November 1994.
	Signed: 04/11/1998
	EIF: 23/12/1998
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 023/ 1999: Cm 4322 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers .1999/ (see April 1999)
	Title Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland concerning Mutual Assistance in Relation to Criminal Matters.
	Signed: 26/11/1998
	EIF: 01/06/2004
	Publications: Ireland No.006/1999: Cm 4306
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing Implementation Bodies.
	Signed: 08/03/1999
	EIF: 02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 05112000 : Cm 4706 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ (see May 2000)
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing a North/South Ministerial Council.
	Signed: 08/03/1999
	EIF: 02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 053 2000: Cm 4708 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ )(see May 2000)
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
	Signed: 08/03/1999
	EIF:02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 05412000: Cm 4709
	http://www.fco.gov.uklen/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers-by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ (see May 2000)
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing a British-Irish Council.
	Signed: 08/03/1999
	EIF: 02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 055 2000: Cm 4710
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/enlabout-the-fco/publicationsltreaty-command-papers-emsltreaty-command-papers-by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ (see May 2000)
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains.
	Signed: 27/04/1999
	EIF: 28/05/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 070 1999: Cm 4473 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-1999/ (see November 1999)
	Title Exchange of Letters between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland concerning the interpretation of certain terms in the Agreement establishing Implementation Bodies.
	Signed: 18/06/1999
	EIF: 02/12/1999
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 052/ 2000: Cm 4707 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2000/ (see May 2000)
	Title Exchange of Letters between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland amending the Agreement concerning the International Fund for Ireland done at London and Dublin on 18 September 1986.
	Signed 27/09/2000 and 10/10/2000
	EIF: 10/10/2000
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 131/ 2000: Cm 5007
	Title Exchange of Notes between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland concerning Certain Decisions of the North/South Ministerial Council established by the Agreement between the two Governments signed at Dublin on 8 March 1999 and related matters.
	Signed: 19/11/2002
	EIF: 03/12/2002
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 054/ 2002: Cm 5708 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2002/ (see Dec 2002)
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland on Police Co-operation.
	Signed: 29/04/2002
	This Agreement has not yet entered into force Publications: Ireland No.001/ 2002: Cm 5579.
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland establishing the Independent Monitoring Commission.
	Signed: 25/11/2003
	EIF: 07/01/2004
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 027/ 2004: Cm 6263 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2002/ (see July 2004).
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland on the Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident or Incident of Radiological Significance and the Exchange of Information concerning the Operation and Management of Nuclear Facilities or Activities.
	Signed: 10/12/2004
	EIF: 10/12/2004
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 008/2005 : Cm 6494 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/ treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2002/ (see March 2005).
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland on the Reciprocal Holding of Stocks of Crude Oil and/or Petroleum Products.
	Signed: 12/04/2005
	EIF: 12/04/2005
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 020/2005 : Cm 6569 http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers -by-date/treaty-command-papers-2005/ (see June 2005).
	Title: Convention on Social Security between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland.
	Signed: 14/12/2004
	EIF: 01/10/2007
	Publications: Treaty Series No. TS 030/2007: Cm 7277.
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers-by-date/treaty-command-papers-2007/ (see Nov 2007).
	Title: Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland on Co-operation on Criminal Justice Matters.
	Signed: 26/07/2005
	EIF: 10/12/2008
	Publications: Ireland no.001/2006: Cm 6931.
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/publications/treaty-command-papers-ems/treaty-command-papers-by-date/treaty-command-papers-2006/ I (see October 2006).
	Title Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland concerning practical changes to the operations of the institutions established by the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland done at Belfast on the 10th day of April 1988.
	Signed: 22/03/2007
	EIF: 09/05/2007
	Publications: Ireland 001/2007: Cm 7078.

Revenue and Customs: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 18 December 2008 (WA 79), how many of the staff leaving HM Revenue and Customs between 2005 and 2008 were made redundant; what was the cost of their severance and redundancy payments; and how many of the 13,874 permanent staff recruited from 2005 to 2008 had previously worked for HM Revenue and Customs and received severance payments.

Lord Myners: In HMRC between 2005 and 2008 in grades AA to grade 6 only one permanent member of staff accepted voluntary redundancy due to personal circumstances (below Senior Civil Service). I can confirm that the officer concerned has not been re-employed by the department. There were no compulsory redundancies.
	Of the 13,874 staff recruited between 2005 and 2008 some of this number will have been employed previously on a fixed term contract with HMRC. Staff in this position who are offered permanent contracts are either recruited through fair and open competition or are successful in a internal promotion exercise. Fixed-term appointees are eligible to apply for posts offered in this way.
	Fixed-term appointees are not offered severance payments but are entitled to a small payment as statutory compensation where they have been made redundant at the end of their contract. They will have received an average of two weeks salary. This payment is not at the discretion of HMRC. Around 1,000 staff received the statutory compensation. This may include some of the staff now permanently employed but exact numbers are too costly and resource intensive to obtain.

Roads: Traffic Signs

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to remove non-prescribed illegal obstructions of the highway and prescribed traffic signs erected in locations not compliant with the directions of the Secretary of State for Transport which have a proven link to injury or death.

Lord Adonis: The powers and duties to remove (or to effect the removal) of obstructions from the highway under the Highways Act 1980 primarily rest with the relevant highway authority for each highway. In respect of the motorway and all-purpose trunk road network in England, for which the Secretary of State is the highway authority, the Highways Agency undertakes these matters as and when necessary. This information can be provided by the Highways Agency only at disproportionate cost.
	To date, the Secretary of State has not exercised the power in Section 69(3) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 relating to the removal of signs by giving directions to a local traffic authority.

Russia

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will propose to improve United Kingdom relations with the Russian Federation.

Lord Malloch-Brown: It is in our interests to work with Russia to address a range of global issues, including the economic crisis, the Middle East peace process, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and security in Afghanistan. To this end we have increasingly regular high-level bilateral contact. Deputy Prime Minister Kudrin visited London on 4 February 2009 for discussions on the global economic crisis, including meetings with my right honourable friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Foreign Secretary. The Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister Kudrin issued a joint statement after their talks. President Medvedev is also expected to come to the UK for the G20 Summit in April. It is particularly important to engage with Russia on economic issues, to achieve a co-ordinated global response to the current crisis, and to maintain our important trade and investment relationship.
	However, significant differences remain. In our bilateral relationship, we have outstanding issues over the refusal of Russia to provide real co-operation with the investigation into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko and over the closure of British Council offices in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. Internationally we remain deeply concerned by Russia's breach of its international obligations in Georgia. We will continue to press Russia to resolve these issues.

Russia

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what direct and multilateral representations they have made to the Government of Russia about the recent killings of Stanislav Markielov, journalist, and Anastasia Babulova, lawyer, in a public place.

Lord Malloch-Brown: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my noble friend Lord Davies of Oldham on 11 February 2009, Official Report, col. WA206.

Schools: Bullying

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent of sexual bullying in schools.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish guidance to help schools tackle sexual bullying.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The department will be launching our new guidance on how to prevent and tackle bullying related to gender and gender identity in the spring. We will ensure that the issue of sexual bullying and sexual harassment is considered and addressed in this guidance.
	We do not collect data on sexual bullying centrally although we are aware of some ad hoc surveys. We intend to introduce a new statutory duty on schools to record all incidents of bullying between pupils later this year, and will specifically consult on whether schools should be obliged to record sexual bullying incidents.

Schools: Evolution

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider new measures to ensure that evolution is properly and thoroughly taught in schools.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The science programme of study already sets out the legal requirements of the National Curriculum. It clearly states that pupils should be taught:
	how uncertainties in scientific knowledge and scientific ideas change over time;the role of the scientific community in validating these changes;that variation within species can lead to evolutionary changes; and,similarities and differences between species can be measured and classified.

Severn River Crossing plc

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much value added tax was collected from Severn River Crossing plc during (a) November, and (b) December 2008.

Lord Myners: Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 does not permit HM Revenue and Customs to disclose information relating to the tax affairs of individual businesses.

Sport: Young People

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement the recommendations of the Audit Commission, in its report Tired of Hanging About, in respect of sports and leisure projects for young people.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: At the time of publication the Government were already in the process of implementing many of the measures recommended in the report. Local authorities already have much more flexibility on the use of funding which will allow them to fund projects on a longer term basis. For example, a total of 222 million has been made available for a three-year period from 2008-11 to provide activities for disaffected young people at risk of antisocial behaviour and crime. The total amount of ring-fenced funding (excluding schools) will reduce from 11.2 per cent in 2008-09 to 8 per cent in 2010-11. The Government are also investing heavily in activities and facilities ensuring that they are available at times when young people need them. Investment of more than 200 million in the myplaceinitiative will transform the facilities available for young people alongside strong encouragement to LAs to open facilities and provide activities on Friday and Saturday night. To help ensure that services are responsive to young people's needs, the Government are also investing more than 60 million a year until 2010-11 to allow young people to make decisions on what positive activities and facilities should be funded in their local area.

Sri Lanka

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what diplomatic efforts they are making (a) in New Delhi, and (b) in Colombo, to secure a peaceful settlement in Sri Lanka.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We discuss the situation in Sri Lanka regularly with the Sri Lankan and Indian Governments, expressing our view that for peace to be sustainable, an inclusive political process that takes fully into account the legitimate concerns of all Sri Lankan communitiesSinhalese, Tamil and Muslimis essential. We also continue to engage with the broader international community on the need to make progress towards a lasting political solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Taxation: Inheritance Tax

Lord Inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many chattels, and of what value, were conditionally exempted from inheritance tax in (a) 2005, (b) 2006, (c) 2007, and (d) 2008.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many chattels conditionally exempt from inheritance tax, and of what value, have been de-exempted since 2005.

Lord Myners: The number of chattels conditionally exempted in each of the years requested is as shown in the table below:
	
		
			 Chattels conditionally exempted from inheritance tax 
			 Year of designation as exempt Number of chattels 
			 2005 699 
			 2006 5,718 
			 2007 1,451 
			 2008 1,256 
		
	
	Estimated values of chattels conditionally exempted are recorded separately from the number of items and sometimes at a later point in the process. The values for a year shown in the table below do not therefore correspond to the yearly counts of items above.
	
		
			 Chattels conditionally exempted from inheritance tax 
			 Year Estimated value ( millions) 
			 2005 231 
			 2006 47 
			 2007 65 
			 2008 83 
		
	
	5,023 chattels have ceased to benefit from conditional exemption since 1 January 2005. The value recorded (which excludes the value for a small number of cases where for technical reasons there was no tax charge on cessation) amounts to 39 million.
	The figures provided include chattels that have been granted conditional exemption in their own right, and the historically associated contents of historic houses.

Terrorism

Baroness Northover: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what way their previous commitment that Where the United Kingdom can make a significant contribution, the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence will work in partnership with others to: ... promote initiatives in selected countries, including indigenous capacity building, to help ... build sustainable security, outlined under Foreign and Commonwealth Office Public Service Agreement 4 in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Public Service Agreement 200306 Technical Note, is reflected in their current set of Public Service Agreements for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and in its strategic priorities.

Lord Malloch-Brown: As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR'07) HM Treasury sought to streamline the number of public service agreements (PSAs) across Government, focusing on the highest priority outcomes. This resulted in a slimmed down set of 30 PSAs, reduced from over 100 during SR'04. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) leads on PSA 30 (reduce the impact of conflict through enhanced UK and international efforts).
	The FCO's Departmental Strategic Objective 6 (DSO6) for 2008-09 to 20 10/11 Prevent and Resolve Conflict is linked closely to PSA 30.
	In order to achieve PSA 30, the Government are taking a strategic, long-term approach to international security and conflict issues, investing in international institutions, and building UK capability to plan, co-ordinate and deploy civilian and military resources. The UK is looking at the widest possible range of activities, from conflict prevention and resolution through to stabilisation, post-conflict reconstruction, development and other aspects of state-building (including building democratic processes and institutions, the rule of law and respect for human rights) and the important link into long-term and sustainable development.
	Of the four indicators which support PSA 30, indicator 2 reduced impact of conflict in specific countries and regions (Afghanistan, Iraq, Balkans, Middle East, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region, Horn of Africa, Nigeria and Sudan) and indicator 3 more effective international institutions, better able to prevent, manage and resolve conflict and build peace continue the work set out in PSA 2003-06 to promote initiatives in selected countries, including indigenous capacity building, to help avert conflict, reduce violence and build sustainable security and peace (FCO PSA 4 iii).
	The trilateral (FCO, Ministry of Defence and Department for International Development) Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP) and Stabilisation Aid Fund (SAF) support the Government's conflict prevention policy in line with the PSA. The CPP currently supports conflict prevention work in a number of regions (Africa, Americas, Balkans, Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States, South Asia, Middle East and North Africa). The SAF supports stabilisation and reconstruction activity in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Transport: Heavy Goods Vehicles

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 4 February (WA 134-35) and in the light of the proportion of heavy goods vehicles prohibited by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency which are from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, what action they will take with the administrations of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to address this issue.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response following the report that over half of heavy goods vehicles fail compliance checks at Dalar Hir, Holyhead; and what action they propose to take.

Lord Adonis: The Department for Transport's Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) routinely reports all breaches of road-safety law by foreign-registered vehicles to the relevant authorities of the state for follow-up action. VOSA also has an arrangement with the Irish authorities for reciprocal visits by enforcement staff to share knowledge and experience about improving compliance. In addition VOSA has seconded a senior member of its staff to the Irish Road Safety Authority to help focus attention on non-compliant operators, and to advise on appropriate and effective enforcement action.
	To tackle high levels of non-compliance we intend shortly to introduce new provisions under the Road Safety Act 2006 which will enable VOSA and the police to require a financial penalty deposit from any non-UK driver who fails to comply with GB road traffic law. These provisions, known as the Graduated Fixed Penalty, Financial Penalty Deposits and Immobilisation Scheme (GFP/DS) will enable police officers and VOSA examiners to:
	issue fixed penalties to non-UK-resident offendersin respect of both non-endorsable and endorsable offences; request immediate financial deposits from non-UK-resident offenders (equivalent to an on-the-spot fine)either in respect of a fixed penalty or as a form of surety in respect of an offence which is to be prosecuted in court; and, immobilise vehicles in any case where a driver or vehicle has been prohibited from continuing a journey or in any case where a driver declines to pay the requested deposit.
	Subject to parliamentary consideration, the scheme will be implemented in April.
	We are also making an extra 24 million available to VOSA over three years to help it to boost further the levels of enforcement.

West Bank

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel with a view to reducing the number of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, in line with assurances given by Israeli Ministers three years ago to the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The UK's position has been consistently clear: settlements are illegal and their expansion is an obstacle to the peace process.
	We frequently raise this issue, including during my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary's visit in November, and the visit of my right honourable friend the Minister of State, Bill Rammell, in December.

West Bank

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make representations to the Government of Israel about the number of Palestinian residents in the West Bank being attacked by Israeli settlers.

Lord Malloch-Brown: The Israeli Government, including the Prime Minister, have condemned the violence carried out by the settlers against Palestinian civilians and also Israeli military personnel.
	While we welcome this, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised the issue with Defence Minister, Ehud Barak on 20 October. My right honourable friend the Minister of State, Bill Rammell, visited Hebron in December to get a first hand appreciation of the problem. We will continue to raise our concerns.

West Bank

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any current settlement expansion by the Israeli authorities in the West Bank.

Lord Malloch-Brown: We are aware that settlements continue to grow in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. We are very concerned about this expansion and have made repeatedly clear that we regard it as unacceptable and illegal.